Emma Freud OBE visited the Darsham Hamper and Café, which aims to showcase the store chain’s Sourced Locally range of products, and was given a donation for the Sport Relief charity which she supports.

Emma, who is a broadcaster, Comic Relief trustee and long-time resident of Walberswick, enjoyed a behind the scenes tour of the new farm shop style store on the A12, which has been created on the site of a former Little Chef restaurant.

It is set to be an East of England Co-op’s flagship store featuring food and drink supplied direct from farmers, growers and producers in Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk.

Emma said: “It’s fabulous to see the transformation that has taken place at the Darsham Hamper. I regularly shop at my local East of England Co-op store in Walberswick and am a big supporter of local food – so it’s great that the Darsham Hamper will showcase the very best that the region has to offer.”

Azzouz El-Mahraoui, owner of Coffeelink presented Emma with the first coffee from his in-store café.

Coffeelink, one of the Co-op’s Sourced Locally suppliers, operates espresso bars across the region and will offer visitors to the Hamper speciality tea and coffee and freshly prepared meals, using locally sourced products.

Clive Mann, vice-president of the East of England Co-op, presented Emma with a £500 donation to Sport Relief.

The grand Easter opening takes place at Darsham Hamper, London Road, Darsham, Suffolk IP17 3QR on Thursday, April 17, from 10am with live music, children’s Easter activities, and Sourced Locally tastings.

Dramatic increases in the average age of people in Suffolk have been highlighted in a report which reveals that in some areas nearly one in 10 are expected to be aged 85 or over in the next two decades.